Greece 2014 Adventure: Day 10 Athens Tour Part 4
Temple of Olympia
The temple of Olympian Zeus is the largest of the ancient
temples of Athens. It stands on a low elevation in the ground to the south-east
of the Acropolis. Traces of human settlement on this site dates back as early
as the Prehistoric period. The antiquity of the sanctuary is confirmed both by
the archaeological evidence and the ancient sources. Pausanias reports that it
was founding by Deukalion, the mythical founding father of the Greek’s.
From early historical times Zeus was worshiped in the area
of Olympieion. A temple was found here in the early 6th Century BC. During
the period of tyranny (515 BC) Peisistratos the younger grandson of the famous
Peisistratos wanted to replace this early temple with a new of epic dimensions using the model of those found
in Asia Minor. Construction had reached to the level of the crepis when the
tyranny of Athens was overthrown. The
Athenians refused to continue building it, and brilliant as the building was the new democracy felt it was a reminder of
the loathed tyranny.
In 174BC the then King of Syria, Antiochos IV Epiphanes continued
the work together with Cossutius, a Roman who was the architect. The
constructin continued until they had reached the entablature level before work
once again came to a halt on the death of Antiochos.
In AD 124-125 while the emperor Hadrian was staying in
Athens, he wanted to complete the temple and construction started once more and
it was finally inaugurated in AD131.
The temple was one of the largest in the ancient world and
it stood in a large open space (250mx130m) it was 110.35m long and 43.68m wide
and built in the Corinthian order. Two rows of 20 columns on the sides with
three rows of 8 columns on the ends. A total of 104 columns which were 17,25m
tall with a base diameter of 1.70m.
Today only 16 remain – 13 at the south-east
corner and 3 near the south-east corner.
The one in the middle fell after a
huge storm in 1852 and low lies on the ground.
The cella housed a chryselephantine stature of Zeus and a statue of
Hadrian who was honored jointly with the
god.
A rectangular poros enclosure wall measuring 205.85x128.72m
was constructed and buttressed with built pillars. The entrance to the enclosure
was by a small propylon on the north side.
Hadrian's Arch:
After the construction of the temple, the Athenians honored
Hadrian by building an arched gateway, 18m high, 13.50m wide and 2.30m deep, in
the north-west corner of the enclosure.
The central arch is 6.20m wide and is
surmounted by Corinthian columns and pilasters with lonic epistyles at the ends
and a pediment in the centre.
On the epistyle blocks above the arch and
columns, to the side of the old city (west façade) is the carved inscription; “This
is Athens, formerly the city of Theseus”.
When you stand on the side facing the
sanctuary and the extension of the city by Hadrian, you find the inscription: “this
is the city of Hadrian and not of Theseus”
Excavations continue:
The remains of other important sanctuaries have been
excavated in the area immediately bordering on the north. The foundations of a
Classical temple just outside the south side of the enclosure wall of
Olympieion have been identified with Delphinion, the sanctuary of Apollo
Delphinios.
A small peristyle Doric temple of Roman time which is surrounded by
an enclosure wall has also been identified with Kronion, the sanctuary of Kronos
and Rhea. The remains of a large rectangular peristyle and the foundations of
another small temple to the south-west of the Kronion has also been identified
with the Panhellenion, the sanctuary of Zeus Panhellenios.
the view of the Acropolis from Zeus's Temple!!! Awesome!!so excited can not wait to feast my eyes on the Acropolis - have wanted to see it since I can remember!
to be continued.......
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